After returning home, Li Tu did nothing but wait to see Li Tong who went to see the boat. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info waited until dinner time before Li Tong returned home.

"See the boat?"

As soon as he saw Li Tong, Li Tu asked anxiously.

Hearing his brother's inquiry, Li Tong said loudly:

"See, what a big boat, parked in Plum Bay. The ship was three stories high. Pointed bottom, big hull. ”

took the gourd scoop handed over by Li Tu and took a sip of water, Li Tong excitedly continued:

"The bow of the ship is flat, and the stern has a wooden tower, which is raised high."

"The mast is so high, it goes up to heaven. There are three large sails on the mast, the middle large and the small at the ends. ”

Confirming that it was a big ship, Li Tu was overjoyed and asked:

"What about the people on board?"

Hearing his brother's question, Li Tong's face changed, he stopped waving his gestures, clenched his hands into fists and said:

"There were a lot of people up there, a few with big beards, a few with no beards and bald heads. There seem to be a lot of bows and knives on the ship, and a few of them are wielding knives and guns. ”

Li Tong thought for a while, and then said:

"But someone made deliveries on the ship."

"We hid behind the rocks and watched for a long time, and saw more than a dozen people carrying four loads of goods along the coast and carrying them onto the ship."

Someone was transporting goods, and it appeared to be a merchant ship.

In this era, the sea is not very peaceful. When they reach the sea, there are no king's laws and rules, and the weak eat the strong, killing people, setting fires, and playing. In the seas of East Asia, all kinds of pirates and Westerners' raiding ships are rampant. Even if it is a merchant ship, you must arm yourself, otherwise you will be robbed by pirates in a few moments.

Li Tu also knows some history of the late Ming Dynasty, which will listen to Li Tong's description, he knows that this is an armed merchant ship.

"Did any of the people on the boat come ashore?"

"The boat is hiding in a sunken cliff bay. A small half went ashore. A dozen people pitched tents on the shore, and the others stayed on board. ”

Hearing Li Tong's words, Li Tu stomped a few steps in the house.

The sea was rough and rough, and after coming back from overseas to trade for so long, it was hard to make money, and most people were anxious to go to the town to rest and have some fun. But the ship hid in Meiwan and did not dare to sail into the large port of Tongyang, Yuegang, east of Zhangzhou. Apparently this is a smuggling cargo ship.

The end of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the beginning of the seventeenth century, was the era of great exploration. Western adventurers sailed into the deep sea with cannons, plundered Africa, carved new continents, and sailed across four oceans to return home in sailboats filled with yellow scarves and ivory. The heroes of this era are these enterprising and adventurous trendsetters.

Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Francis Drake, William Danpier, Henry Avery, these explorers or pirates are names that shine on this era. Even in the East, there are also armed maritime merchants such as Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong, and Li Dan that have resounded throughout history.

In this era, Li Tu is of course unwilling to be a farmer for the rest of his life. As a traverser, as a dignified seven-foot man, what is it to dig in the soil?

But in this era of the end of the Ming Dynasty, where is the clear road?

Is it to study hard to gain fame, join the Donglin Party, and enter the official career? This road doesn't work! Not to mention that the career is difficult, it is not good at this age. Li Tu is already eighteen years old, and it is too old to read the Four Books and the Five Classics. is to use means to gain fame, I am afraid that by then the world will be turned upside down and the dynasty will be changed.

Is it to go to the Northeast to join the army and fight against Jiannu to save China? With the corrupt officialdom at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the erosion of the military, Li Tu did not believe that he could change people's hearts and history by himself. If you really want to join the army, you are definitely cannon fodder.

Going to the northwest to seek refuge with Li Zicheng? That's a dead end. In the first battle of Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng's million-strong army was not wiped out.

The last way is to go to Jianzhou to vote for tartars. But shaving his hair as a slave and slaughtering his compatriots is not something that Li Tu can do.

Only by doing maritime business all the way, the future is bright, the advance can be attacked, and the retreat can be defended, which is a bright road. Taking glory and wealth from the sea is what a good man does.

Ever since he heard his younger brother talk about the boat that day, Li Tu's heart lit up, as if he had seen a clear road.

Even if it is the forty taels of debts in the family, the debts that are pressed on the Li family like a mountain, Li Tu has to ask for a solution from this clear road. Now this ship, like the future of Li Tu, is placed in front of Li Tu.

Of course, the sea is rough and sometimes even hurricanes, and going to sea is risky.

Moreover, in East Asia at the beginning of the 17th century, no maritime pirate could monopolize the seas, and various forces competed with each other by force, intelligence, and courage. When merchant ships go to sea, they often encounter pirates who are looted and even at risk of being killed.

But because of this, maritime merchants need capable men.

The risk of piracy forced each shipowner to recruit brave men to protect their ocean-going trade.

The greater the risk, the higher the return. The rough sea is where Li Tu's martial arts come into play.

Li Tu searched his stomach and interrogated Li Tong again, and kept asking Li Tong about the scene and details of the ship that Li Tong saw, and then let Li Tong go.

After dinner, Li Tu secretly thought about it for one night and made up his mind.

#####

Early the next morning, Li Tu and Li Tong took off their filial piety clothes, changed into ordinary clothes, and went to find the boat together.

Before leaving, the two bought two watermelons at the market.

Since those shipwrights and sailors could not get off the ship, it was naturally inconvenient for them to live in terms of living materials. Even if there is rice and vegetables, melons and fruits are always lacking. Take two watermelons, it can be regarded as a meeting gift, and it is easier to talk.

The two of them went out from the east end of the town with watermelons, crossed Dajingling, passed through Louzi Village, crossed Houting Mountain, and walked for two quarters of an hour before arriving at Meiwan, where the boat was anchored.

Nammy Bay is a cliff with dozens of hollows into which ships can be hidden. The two walked around the beach below the cliff for another quarter of an hour before they found the smuggling ship.

Rounding a canyon, Li pointed forward and said excitedly:

"It's the big ship!"

Li Tu looked ahead and saw the three-masted Chinese sailing ship.

That "big ship", in Li Tu's eyes, is really not that big.

According to the standards of later generations, the displacement of this ship was probably only three or four hundred tons. In later generations, the ocean-going ships were thousands of tons and tens of thousands of tons, and the ships of several hundred tons were all pocket ships.

But in this era, compared to the common fishing boats, this three-deck Tongfan ship on the water is already a giant ship.

On the beach below the boat, there were more than a dozen tents. In the middle of the tent was a large fire, presumably where the sailors roasted meat and cooked. More than a dozen people were inside and outside the tent, standing or sitting. On the sailboat next to it, there were dozens of people.

Li Tu nodded and walked over with a watermelon.

Ten feet away from the boat, the two were seen by the boatmen. The people near the tent shouted loudly in this direction:

"Who's coming?"

Li Tu held the watermelon and said loudly,

"I'm here to sell melons!"

Seeing the watermelon that Li Tu was lifting, the sailors did not react violently and let the two get closer.

Although this ship is smuggling, in fact, many people in the vicinity already know about the existence of this ship. In fact, the owner of this smuggling boat has already bought off the local government, and no one will come to track it down. The reason why he avoided to Meiwan was because he could not trade openly and honestly, leaving people with a handle.

Stopped in the shadows, the government can say that I didn't know there were smuggling boats. If the ship stopped in the open, the people in the official hall would not be able to pretend not to know.

This ship came to Zhangzhou to do trade, and someone had to answer it, and it had to load a large amount of goods and supplies, so the so-called concealment of people's eyes and ears was just for show.

If there is really no government to buy the ship and no one to take over, it is impossible to carry out trade.

Seeing the two Li Tu, the sailors were not nervous. Probably there were other people who sold things before, and these sailors were used to it.

When the two men reached the tent, a sailor approached. The sailor was wearing a Ming short coat, but he had a shaved head of the Japanese samurai Tsukiyo. He looked at the watermelons of the two and said.

"The melon is quite big, how much is it?"

Li Tu was a little strange about the sailor's dress, looked at it a few more times, and then said:

"No money!"

Hearing this, the head of the Yue Dai was stunned and asked suspiciously, "Then what are you here for?" ”

"I want to join the gang!"

Hearing his brother's words, Li Tong's face was shocked all of a sudden, and he couldn't react. Looking at Li Tu in surprise, Li Tong said, "Brother? ”

Yue Daitou looked Li Tu up and down, and asked suspiciously:

"Occupancy?"

"What are you capable of?"

Straightening his chest, Li Tu replied indifferently: "I can fight!" ”